A2Z Rugs Colour Guide

The colours in Persian rugs, Indian rugs and Oriental rugs

Part of the joy of the rugs that we sell is created by the colours that burst from the surface of each and every rug. The colour in every rug is the result of a dying process, and in this section we aim to highlight how each of these colours is made, which plants were used and what each of the colours symbolises in the eyes of the rug makers. Through the cleaning process we carry out in our warehouse in the Middle East, we aim to bring out the colours that are present in each and every rug, and we hope that the photographs on this site begin to do justice for the striking shades and tones in each.

Every rug is different, and what is exciting is that even with some colours that you might not think go with your wooden floor or the colours on the wall, the effect can be striking and the rug can quickly become the key feature in any room. If you see this effect, feel free to post the results on our Facebook page (our community is very small but loyal).

Every rugmaker is different too, and in handmade varieties much of the dying process is done as a step in the overall rug creation, meaning that every rug might have a different interpretation of a particular colour. The other important thing to note here is that in some of the rugs, as so much of the dying is done by hand, do not expect for a 'red' to be 100% consistent across the entire rug, as one end of the thread might be a deeper red than the other! We try and make sure that this is reflected in the photography that we have taken of the rug - and we believe that the white background is the best way to enable you to spot these.

We have split colours out into two areas: main colour and pattern colours. Main colour refers to the background colour, i.e. the colour that has been used to support any of the intricate patterns that you see. Patterns are dealt with in the 'Pile and Patterns Guide'. Click on any of the colours below to give you a feel for each of the colours of the rug and the information on how they are created. We have also listed the base colour of each of the rugs below, so perhaps you can begin your search from here.